Shadows of Another Life
by Razial
Summary: Halloween changes everything for two members of the Scooby gang and forces the Mayor to try and deal with them, his solution however only makes the situation worse for him and he has to make even more dangerous choices to counter his mistake.
1. Chapter 1

The Shadows Of Another Life

Author: Razial  
Beta: Hawklan

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of its related characters or media, they belong to Joss Whedon and whoever else owns the rights. I also don't own Cloud, Tifa or any of the other Final Fantasy 7 characters. They belong to Square and whoever else owns the rights to them. I also don't own the Underworld series or any of the characters from the movies or books. They belong to whoever owns them. I also do not own the rights to anything else used in this story, they belong to whoever created them or owns the rights to them.

Pairing: Xander/Cordelia Cloud/Tifa

Notes: This takes place in an alternate season 3 of Buffy where the events of Halloween from season 2 have not happened yet, also the events of Xander cheating on Cordelia hasn't happened at this point in time and neither is their relationship as progressed as it was in season 3 due to them getting together a little later in season 2. As for Final Fantasy, the events take place after the game and the animated film Advent Children.

Summary: Halloween changes everything for two members of the Scooby gang and forces the Mayor to try and deal with them, his solution however only makes the situation worse for him and he has to make even more dangerous choices to counter his mistake.

Chapter 1

(Sunnydale High School Library)

Xander Harris sat with his feet on the table and was trying not to fall asleep as he waited for his girlfriend Cordelia Chase, and his friends Buffy Summers(the Slayer), Willow Rosenberg and Daniel Osbourne or as he was most often called Oz to finally to arrive. Rupert Giles, Buffy's Watcher stood off to the side doing his best not to chastise Xander as he knew the gang had a rough late night during patrol. They had run into a rather dangerous Whikval Demon, a highly dangerous and rare Demon. That it had appeared in Sunnydale was disturbing to the Watcher. However his Slayer and her friends had managed to defeat it although with great difficulty. Oz and Xander had both been injured. Thankfully neither injury was serious. Buffy had also been injured, but already her greater healing, due to being the Slayer, had mostly dealt with it.

Finally ten minutes later the rest of the group entered in one go to find Xander completely passed out in his chair and Giles reading quietly off to the side. Cordelia smiled at the look of her sleeping boyfriend's face before covering it up. She really didn't like showing just how much she had fallen for Xander, especially not to the group she had befriended thanks to him. She was even more hesitant to show it to her supposed friends like Harmony Kendall and the others. Xander understood her hesitance, but it had begun to cause trouble in their relationship. She just couldn't decide if he was worth giving up her standing within the school, a place she had spent a lot of time and effort keeping within the school status quo. The majority of the elite believed she was just playing with Xander, while she really looked for a real new boyfriend from the elite. She let that view stand she knew her relationship with Xander would remain shaky and could break if she didn't make up her mind soon.

"How is it Xander has never gotten suspended for sleeping while in school?" Buffy inquired quietly as they all took their places at the table.

"Because I always help him catch up," Willow answered with a small smile as she glanced at her sleeping friend. "Xander does try to pay attention in class, usually history is his favorite class with math been his worst," she reminded her with a shrug. "He just finds it hard to keep his attention on something he considers boring," she finished with another smile while Buffy just shook her head.

"I'm surprised Giles let him sleep, especially with his feet on the table," Cordelia mused, turning to the Watcher with a raised eyebrow.

"After the rather rough night you all had, I did not have the heart to yell at him as he did look quite knackered," Giles answered the girl's unasked question. "It seems he had trouble falling asleep after your patrol and thus for once I let him sleep here as he had a free period, no real harm done," he explained.

"I wonder why he had trouble sleeping," Buffy mused and missed the uncomfortable looks that passed over Cordelia's and Willow's faces as both knew the truth of Xander's home life.

Giles however didn't miss the looks and he wondered yet again about the young man who had joined his Slayer in her duty. He had often seen troubling signs that may point to problems in Xander's home life, but he'd never tried to really find out. Maybe it was time he did do some digging, he didn't want to intrude but if Xander was abused it was his duty to do something about it.

"So anything you want us to look for specifically tonight, Giles?" Buffy asked, turning the conversation onto a more serious topic. "

"I want you to ensure the Whikval Demon was here alone. So I suggest you patrol around the area you found it in, but be very careful," Giles answered with a tone that told them all he was dead serious about being careful. "I think after your encounter with one of these things you know how deadly they can be and know not to take any chances," he added.

"Yeah we know," Oz spoke up with a wince as he briefly touched his left shoulder which had been injured the night before, although not too badly that he couldn't play with his band before their patrol.

Before any of them could say anything else the doors to the library opened abruptly, slamming into the wall behind them as they did so. This jarred Xander awake as the others all looked to find Principle Snyder storm into the place with an ugly frown marring his features. Not that this was any change for the man as he usually had a frown on his face, especially when dealing with them. Xander quickly shook himself awake and glared slightly at the man, who seemed to enjoy trying to make their lives miserable.

"Ah this is where you troublesome lot are hiding, is it?" he spat with a sneer as he glared at Buffy. "I've been looking for you all, good job in trying to keep them out of trouble Mr. Giles, but take my advice that it is a waste of time," he continued glancing briefly at Giles, who did his best to look uninterested as it wouldn't do for Snyder to realize his connection to the teenagers.

"So what do you want?" Xander finally spoke up unable to take any more of the man's jibes at them. This turned Snyder's glare onto him not that it fazed him in the least as he was used to it.

"That's what do you want Sir, you slacker," Snyder spat back instantly to which Xander snorted and just smiled at him making Snyder even more angry. "I would suggest Miss Chase you don't get in any deeper with this lot if I was you, they will destroy your good reputation and perhaps even degrade you in the eyes of your peers," he added with another sneer.

Xander almost jumped out of his seat at the last insinuation, but Cordelia having already been ready for it managed to stop him. She glared at Snyder for a moment or two until he backed down. He knew she had pull in the school due to her parents and she could make his life difficult if she so choose. He hated these rich brats even more than he hated the rest of them. Cordelia finally turned to her boyfriend and ensured he wouldn't make another attempt to get at Snyder. His eyes locked on hers and she saw the true fury he had felt at the insult to her. That more than anything showed that Xander's feelings for her were real, which made her indecision even worse.

The others watched the short exchange between the three with interest, it was funny to see Snyder being backed down by Cordelia, but they were all equally annoyed with the man for his careless and insulting comments. Cordelia's brief connection with Xander made them all again wonder if her feelings for him were genuine or not. None of them could tell even now and for Willow that really annoyed her. She, Xander and Cordelia had known each other since they were kids and for most of that time they had been enemies. It was only after Jessie had been killed once Buffy had come into their lives that this fact had changed. At first she was sickened by the idea of the two of them together, but after beginning a relationship with Oz that feeling had faded. Now all she felt was unease because of the way Cordelia treated the relationship, always feeling so uneasy of what the majority of the school would think of it.

"Anyway as I was saying I was looking for the lot of you as I want you all to sign up for the Halloween guardianship program. There are a lot of children who need to be watched while they trick or treat," Snyder told them, swiftly moving on to another topic. "And you lot are going to do it, each of you needs to learn some responsibility," he added. "Some more than others," he muttered with a dark look at Xander who just glared back, but quickly looked away as he felt Cordelia's hand grasp his under the table in warning.

"But," Buffy started to protest, but Snyder cut her off.

"No buts out of any of you," he snapped, as he put the clip board with the sign-up sheet in front of her. "You are doing this and that is final, consider it credit for your final semester and if you want to get into a good university then you need all the credit you can get," he told them bluntly. "The event starts at six p.m. till eight thirty on Friday, thus you have a whole day to get ready. Every guardian will be in charge of a group of ten kids each. You must all come in costume as well," he explained as they slowly passed the sign-up sheet around and signed it.

"You cannot be serious," Cordelia protested not liking the idea of having to dress up for this.

"Look at the look on my face Miss Chase and I think you can tell how serious I am," Snyder shot back with a glare at her as Oz handed the clip board back and he nodded in satisfaction as he saw they had all signed them. "Excellent, I'm sure you will have a fun night," he said sarcastically before turning and leaving the library.

"I really hate that guy," Buffy grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the doors where Snyder had just left.

"Yes he is a rather unpleasant fellow isn't he?" Giles agreed with a nod of his head. "Luckily however Halloween should be a quiet night as it was last year. Nothing ever happens so you and your charges should be relatively safe," he told them all. "Just don't drop your guard, just in case," he advised.

"I can't believe the nerve of that bastard saying what he said to Cordelia," Xander snapped, finally giving into his urge to vent his frustration.

"Easy Xander," Cordelia said with a sigh. She was pleased by his anger at the insult to her, but she didn't want him to get into trouble any more than he usually did with Snyder. "He was just trying to provoke you so he could have a reason to give you a detention. Don't worry about it, I can deal with him," she assured him with a confident smile.

Xander just frowned, but nodded his head as he knew his girlfriend wasn't someone easily messed with. Running a hand through his hair he turned his mind to what Snyder had roped them all into. Halloween used to be one of his favorite times when he was a child. However that had changed when he learnt the truth about vampires and the like. He, Willow and Jessie had always used to go trick or treating together. That was until Jessie had been killed by that bitch Darla two years ago. That event had changed them both, they could no longer joke about things like magic and demons as they were all too real to them now that they knew the truth. Now they had no choice but to go out there again and act as if everything was a joke. They had to ensure these kids had a good time and came back safe and sound. He guessed they should be lucky Halloween was classed as a demonic holiday in a sense. Still he had learnt on the Hellmouth to never let your guard down, just as Giles had warned them.

+SL+

(Ethan's shop)

Ethan Rayne stood in the backroom of his newly acquired store and smirked as he looked over the costumes he had brought for his new plan. Halloween this year was truly going to be fun. He had originally planned to come to Sunnydale the year before, however he'd had to put that idea off when an old enemy had tracked him down and tried to kill him. It had taken most of the last couple of months to get that particular enemy off his back. In the end he had to do a few spells for him to help his business interests before he would consider letting him live. Now he was free to do what he did best, and that was spread some chaos. The fact his old friend Ripper was now here would make it all the more fun, he smiled as he imagined the chaos that he would ensue.

"Chaos will reign supreme old friend and you will remember who you owe your loyalty too," he murmured absently as he recalled the day Ripper had turned his back on him and the rest of their old friends.

+SL+

(Sunnydale, next day)

Xander walked with the rest of the group through the town once school had finished. They were all discussing Halloween as they knew none of them would be getting out of it thanks to Snyder. Last night's patrol had turned up no more signs of any more Whikval demons in town. They only found four vampires and a chaos demon. All had gone down easy, so they had retired early and each had gotten a good night's sleep. During school they had all agreed to come into town to find something to wear for Halloween. Snyder had again insisted they find decent costumes for the event to fit in with the children they would be chaperoning.

They were looking for a shop they could get their costumes from. They all knew the regular clothes shops, but what they needed was a costume shop and sadly there was none except for Party Town these days and maybe one or two small time shops they didn't know about. The problem with Party Town was that it was designed more for the rich members of the town. Cordelia could afford the sort of prices, but the rest of them couldn't.

"Bloody Snyder always having to make our lives even more hellish than they already are," Buffy spat as they looked around for any smaller costume shops.

"He'll get his one day I'm sure," Willow assured her as Buffy had ranted off and on about Snyder since yesterday afternoon. Xander was the one who worried her though, when he remained quiet on a subject you knew his anger was close to the surface.

She has seen him angry many times, most recently during the return of Angel and Buffy's refusal to tell them about him until Xander ran into him during the Glove of Myhnegon scare. Of course that caused a lot of trouble for the group, from Giles coming face to face with the killer of his girlfriend Jenny Calendar again and for them facing a man who had tortured them for months. Buffy had argued that wasn't really Angel, but the soulless Angelus and should not be held accountable for those crimes.

Xander had disagreed heavily as he hated all vampires. He had even hated Angel before his turning back into Angelus. Some would have said it was due to his jealously over the souled vampire's relationship with Buffy. Maybe for a small while that was true, but it was more down to the fact that Angel's sire Darla had been the one to kill Jessie by turning him into a vampire. Buffy's refusal to tell them about Angel's return had almost led to him being staked by Faith the second Slayer, who had been told of Angel's return by Xander who was still under the impression it was really Angelus.

Faith had only been stopped by the timely arrival of Buffy who had been told what she planned to do by Xander. She wondered what would have happened had Xander not stopped in the library to help Giles who had been injured by the insane Watcher Gwendolyn Post. Would Buffy have gotten there in time to save Angel? And had she not, would her friendships with Xander and Faith have ever recovered? Thankfully everything had been sorted out and Xander had reluctantly accepted Angel back into the group, not that he would ever really trust him though. Buffy accepted that as long as Xander did nothing to endanger Angel. Faith was a little more uneasy about Angel, but also seemed to have accepted having to work with him. They had learned one thing about the whole affair and that was not to leave any of the group on the outside. Faith had been fully integrated into the group and was now living in Giles' spare bedroom after he discovered her true living conditions.

Hopefully Xander wouldn't allow his temper to get the better of him in regards to Snyder. He didn't need to get into any more trouble than he had previously gotten into school wise. Shaking her head she shook of the memories of recent events and returned to looking for a costume shop as she was supposed to be doing. At least Buffy had stopped venting as well, leaving them all in companionable silence.

"Hey look there," Oz spoke up and pointed a few shops ahead of them. "Ethan's Costumes" he added.

"Nicely spotted Oz," Xander said with a nod of his head and forgetting for now his anger at Snyder for making them do this, as well as insulting Cordelia.

They all entered the store and broke up into two groups, Xander and Cordelia headed to the far back of the store unaware they were watched by Ethan. Ethan was watching everyone who came into his store and noted down who bought what, so far he had seen some very interesting costumes sold that would make tomorrow night entertaining.

"I think we should get matching costumes," Xander suggested as he looked around for something at least interesting. "Something that goes together," he added.

Cordelia turned to disagree before changing her mind. At first she was going to get a costume from Party Town, but now she decided she wasn't going to pay top price for a costume, especially when she really didn't want to go to this thing in the first place. She'd get something cheap here, and maybe getting something that went with whatever Xander chose would be fun. It might also help ease some of the tension between them. Time was running out for her to make a choice on where they stood.

"Ok Xander, but nothing too outrageous," she finally responded with a pointed look to which he just smiled and nodded in agreement.

Xander looked carefully through the many costumes the owner seemed to have on offer. He was just about to turn to look near the front where Buffy, Willow and Oz were when he spotted something he recognized. He was surprised to find a full replica outfit worn by Cloud Strife from the game Final Fantasy 7. It came complete with replica Materia and a full replica of his sword from the animated movie he had seen only a year ago although he couldn't remember the title. He ran his hand down the sword and noted it was real steel. Ethan quickly took note of his interest and moved to ensure he bought the outfit.

"I would say you have found something of interest my boy," he said smoothly as Xander looked up at his approach. "I take it you are a fan of the franchise?" he inquired.

"You could say that, is there another outfit from the series in here?" Xander answered as his eyes strayed to where Cordelia stood.

Ethan turned and glanced at the female who was clearly with his potential customer and smiled. 'Oh this is just too easy,' he thought as he did indeed have the perfect outfit to go with this one. "Indeed I do, in point of fact it is the ideal outfit to be bought with this one," he stated with his most charming smile. "I believe you will recognize it," he added as he led them to the next shelf behind the one they were out and pointed at the intended outfit.

Xander recognized the outfit as the one worn by Tifa Lockhart in the animated movie. He wondered how the shop owner had managed to get both of the outfits from such a recent movie release. Hell it had only come out on DVD at the beginning of this year, still these outfits would do perfectly. Cordelia did have quite a few things in common with Tifa after all, the thought made him smile as he glanced at his girlfriend who was looking the outfit over.

"What do you think?" he inquired hoping she would go for it. "Both are full replicas of the characters costumes complete with their chosen weapons," he pointed out.

"I don't see any weapons with this costume," Cordelia pointed out as she continued to examine the costume. She did actually like the look of it. She always had a thing for leather outfits, mostly skirts.

"Tifa uses knuckle gloves and is an expert fighter, the gloves are also where her Materia is stored," Xander responded as he pointed to the attached gloves.

Cordelia smiled as she liked the idea of being an expert fighter, hell if only she could really be one then she would show Buffy some moves. The blond haired Slayer may be a friend sort of, but she still got on her nerves far too much. At least she no longer had to do worry about her getting between her and Xander. Xander had sworn he was over his crush on Buffy.

"How much are they both?" Cordelia inquired.

"$35 dollars each," Ethan answered easily knowing he had both of them interested.

Xander's face fell a little as he didn't have enough for both costumes. Cordelia noted the look and quickly decided to buy them both. $35 dollars each was basically pocket money for her, she liked the costume enough to wear it at least once. Both of them missed the smirk Ethan briefly gave them as he picked up both costumes so he could put them through the scanner. Cordelia handed over one of her credit cards when asked and waited only a second or two before she was handed it back.

"Thanks Cordy," Xander whispered as he moved closer to her. "I'll pay you back when I have the money," he assured her with a soft smile he reserved only for her.

"Oh you'll pay me back Xander, but it will not be money I request," Cordelia responded with her own reserved soft smile for him. "You know I prefer having you do me favors," she reminded him as Ethan handed over the bags containing their costumes.

"As you wish," Xander responded. Cordelia smiled as she heard the line knowing what he really meant by it, just like in the movie the princess bride. She leaned forward gave him a small brief kiss before pulling away.

Xander just smiled as he looked to see Buffy rushing over with a rather obvious looking dress, he could already tell why she was intent on buying it. It would seem nothing would shake Buffy's feelings for Angel, not even his brief return as Angelus. Still he had sworn to keep out of it to Buffy and Cordelia. He had a girlfriend now and thus what Buffy did was of no business of his. He worried that it would again lead to disaster, but he wouldn't stick his nose in after what had happened last time. He was lucky Buffy had forgiven him for almost getting Angel killed at the hands of Faith. She couldn't blame his response to Angel's sudden return as she had failed to trust the entire group with the truth. It was natural they would still believe him to be Angelus. Lessons had been learned by them all during that event. Willow and Oz soon joined them at the counter. He noted they also had matching costumes. If he was remembering correctly the costumes were that of Selene and Michael from the Underworld series, Willow's favorite film of recent times. He could understand her attraction to the costumes considering Oz's status as a Werewolf, but he was a little uneasy with Willow dressing as a vampire for any reason, but it was only for one night.

'What could go wrong?' he asked himself before he winced as he realized the stupidity of asking that particular question on the Hellmouth of all places. He just hoped nothing happened now to make him pay for asking it. Shaking off the rather depressing thought he waited until they had all bought their costumes and then turned and left the shop with the others.

Ethan smirked full on as he watched the group leave, four of that particular group would ensure tomorrow night would be full of excitement and more importantly Chaos which is what he lived for. Chuckling he turned away as more people entered the store, he could hardly wait for Halloween.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Note: Even if he isn't seen in this chapter, we dedicate it to Robin Sachs, the actor who gave us the fun Ethan Rayne. May he rest in peace. /

Chapter 2

(Chase Mansion)

Cordelia looked at herself through the mirror in her new costume and had to admit she looked pretty damn hot. It fit her body in all the right places. Hearing an appreciative moan from behind her she spun to find Xander in his own costume. With her parents away on another of their damn trips she had brought Xander back to her home to try out their new outfits. It wouldn't do to find out they didn't fit the next day when they needed them. She could see Xander liked the way her outfit looked on her; he was leaning casually against the door running his eyes up and down her figure.

"Like the view, I take it?" she inquired with a smirk as she turned back to the mirror.

"You are a real life goddess Cor," Xander stated, unable to tear his eyes away from his girlfriend. Tifa's clothes fit her figure even better than he had imagined, already his imagination was trying to kick into overdrive. "You've always been beautiful, but in that outfit, you are stunning," he added seriously.

Cordelia couldn't help but to smile a little wider as she heard the honesty in Xander's voice as he spoke. Her heart beat began to beat a little wilder as her imagination began to try and show her what interesting diversions they could get up to while no one else was in the house. She had to fight to stop herself from blushing at the images her mind projected to her. That wouldn't help them at this moment in time especially if her parents ever found out they did it in their house, seen as they hated Xander. Her entire relationship with him was to them a form of rebellion, or more likely a way for her to force them to give her whatever it was she really wanted. They had no idea just how deeply she was beginning to suspect her feelings were evolving even if she couldn't admit it to herself yet.

'Was she in love with Xander?' she asked herself once more.

It was a question she just couldn't find an answer too. Was it due to the fact she was scared of the answer? Or just that she couldn't believe just how much their relationship had changed, it was almost a year now since they had begun dating and she had to admit her relationship with Xander had changed her. Her integration with his friends had further changed her and she was no longer the self-indulgent rich girl she had once been. Learning the truth of the world and especially of Sunnydale had opened her eyes to how much of a selfish bitch she had been.

She had never wanted to be as self-absorbed as her parents and supposed friends were, thinking only of money, clothes and boys. She was different than them, she had brains. She intended to make something out of her life, instead of relying on marriage to some rich twit to make something out of her life. Listening to Harmony and the others go on and on about finding some rich stud to live of angered her so damn much these days. Why could they not use their own gifts to make a life out for themselves? Was it so difficult to even try to attempt such a thing? Maybe that was why she felt so disconnected from them the more time she spent with Xander and the others. She couldn't deny how much she enjoyed being in a group that actually gave a damn about each other, instead of just pretending to care like Harmony and the others.

"Are you okay Cordy?" Xander's concerned question brought her out of her thoughts and made her remember where she was.

"Yes I was just thinking about a few things," Cordelia assured him as she moved away from the mirror and stepped into his personal space. "Stunning huh?" she inquired with a smile.

"Damn right," Xander agreed before he leaned in and kissed her with as much passion as he could infuse into it.

Cordelia let out a moan of pleasure as she wrapped her arms around Xander, at the same time as he reached out and pulled her up against him. The kiss deepened as they both began to lose their senses and they began to get swept up in their emotions. A few minutes later Cordelia finally managed to pull away, but all she did was break the kiss. She remained in his arms and leaned her forehead against his. None of her previous boyfriends had ever made her feel as wanted or needed as Xander did. None of them had truly given a damn about how she felt, or even if their relationship had a future. They just enjoyed having her on their arms, a damn trophy to show off. Xander was the first to show her real love, a real sense of caring for her wellbeing. Would any of her previous boyfriends willingly jump through flames to rescue her? No, they would have run in terror at the prospect. That had only been the first of many times he had risked himself for her safety, each time he risked himself she fell for him a little harder.

'Did she love him?' she asked herself once more as she gazed into his open stare. The answer still didn't come, but she felt right then in his arms that she was far closer to the answer than ever before. Finally she broke the embrace and moved to undress, pausing she indicated Xander should do the same in the bathroom. No she wasn't ready to take that step with him, but maybe someday soon she would embrace him fully.

Xander gave her a soft smile and exited the room to head back to the bathroom. He would never push Cordelia into something she didn't want. He loved her too much to ever willingly cause her pain, and forcing anyone into such a situation went against his very nature. He still had nightmares about the time he was possessed by the Hyena and it had tried to force itself on Buffy. No, he would never do such a thing willingly and especially not to Cordelia.

+SL+

(Sunnydale High, Halloween night)

Xander quickly met up with Buffy and Willow as he entered the school, he had to admit Willow looked rather fetching in Selene's leather Death Dealer outfit. He then shook his head quite disturbed to have thought such a thing. Willow was like his sister. He could never have such feelings for her, but he knew that wasn't the case with Willow herself. She had feelings for him or at least once had feelings for him, but of late she seemed quite happy with Oz. He was relieved in fact that she now had a boyfriend to take her interest away from him. He thought they made a good couple anyway.

"So Xander, what do you think?" Buffy asked, breaking into his thoughts as she did a quick twirl in her 18th century dress.

"Don't take this personally Buffy, but I don't think that dress suits you," Xander responded honestly. "The fact you got it to try and impress dead boy is," he stopped and just shook his head. He had promised not to stick his noise into her relationship with Angel and he meant to keep it. Buffy glared at him a little, but relented when he didn't continue whatever he was going to say.

Buffy knew Xander and Angel would never get on or ever be friends. There was just too much bad blood between them. And unless Angel somehow found a way to become human she doubted Xander would ever fully trust her lover, she snorted as she realized even then she doubted they would get on. She should just be thankful, that after that awful mess with the Glove of Myhnegon that Xander had promised not to get involved in her choices relationship wise again. They had finally come to an understanding, it had helped calm any tension between them and their friendship was now once again strong.

"On the other hand I have to say Willow really looks nice in that outfit of Selene's. I think Oz is really going to like it if he has not seen you in it yet," Xander added with a smirk and wink at Willow who blushed heavily.

"Do you really think so?" Willow asked, pleased with the compliment. She found it amusing that had it come three months ago, she would have been swooning and thinking that Xander had finally begun to see her as a woman. Now she had gotten over her crush and had fallen for Oz, her quite musician who just happened to be a Werewolf.

"Yes I do," Xander shot back to which Buffy nodded in agreement. Even she had to admit the outfit looked good on Willow, her red hair fit well with the full black attire she was wearing.

"Good," Willow whispered under her breath as they entered the main hallway which was full of kids, all waiting to be assigned to groups and then for that group to be given a guardian.

Oz appeared next to them as if by magic, dressed as Michael Corvin he looked completely different and it took Buffy a few seconds to realize it was him.

"Wow Oz, you look great," Buffy greeted him with a smile as Oz lightly kissed Willow in greeting before turning to the others.

"Thanks," was all he said with one of his trademark like smiles.

Xander looked around trying to see if Cordelia had already arrived, but so far he saw no sign of her. Harmony and Risha passed them and both paused to laugh and try and insult them. But they quickly switched from Buffy and the others to him in particular. He had promised Cordelia he wouldn't intentionally annoy them even if they did start it and thus he stayed quite. Harmony didn't seem to like that and began to get nastier and nastier with her insults. Willow was held back by Buffy and who did want the red head to get involved.

"HARMONY, shut your annoying trap," an angry voice from behind them snapped, causing them all to turn to find Cordelia with her hands across her chest and glaring at the blond. "I've told you before to leave Xander alone and that who I date or spend time with is not your concern," she continued as she stalked forward to stand side by side with Xander.

She hadn't intended to get involved, but when Harmony had begun to get nasty with her insults, she hadn't been able to control herself any longer. All she wanted to do was slap the blood bimbo silly for daring to insult Xander the way she was doing right now. She had gone too far and for once in her life Cordelia no longer cared about how the elite rich kids viewed her. Xander was hers and hers alone, she wouldn't let this blond bitch insult him anymore. The feelings rising within her refused to be controlled she had to protect what was hers. Harmony looked so shell-shocked by Cordelia's intense defense of Xander. Cordelia almost giggled. Buffy and Willow had no such control and did indeed laugh. Xander looked just as shocked by her actions, more and more of Cordelia's group joined Harmony and Risha including Aura, Laura and Violet. Each one stared at their supposed leader in surprise. Cordelia however kept her gaze pinned on Harmony who she knew had always wanted to usurp her.

"You listen to me you blond bitch and I will only say this once," Cordelia hissed at her in the most deadly tone she could muster. "Leave Xander alone or face me once and for all to see who really is ruler of this place. I can assure you it isn't you and we both know it," she growled out fighting the urge to smack her. "Now leave," she commanded.

Harmony could hardly believe her ears as Cordelia challenged her openly not only in front of their friends, but also the group she considered nothing but idiots and a waste of space. That she was defending Xander Harris of all people made it even worse. She, like the other rich kids, especially those being a part of Cordelia's close group of friends had believed she was using him. She didn't for one second believe her capable of loving someone like Harris, but now she saw it all too clearly. Cordelia had actually fallen for the fool waste of trash. Her disbelief quickly turned to outright anger. Instead of doing the wise thing and backing off she decided now was the time to dethrone Cordelia and finally take her place as top dog.

"You listen to me Cordelia, I'm the ruler of this school now and nothing you say will change that. You've whored yourself out to this piece of trash," Harmony spat back taking every bit of courage she had within her. "You don't get to tell me what to do," she vented.

Cordelia's eyes narrowed as Harmony actually managed to try and make a stand, it was almost amusing to see her try and act like she wasn't afraid. But she could see it within Harmony's eyes, she was terrified. 'Good,' she thought viscously.

A slap sounded through the hall as Cordelia finally gave into the urge to strike the other girl. This caused even further shock to those watching. They all guessed it was a good thing Snyder wasn't present in the hall yet. Harmony staggered backwards as her cheek burned from the force of the slap. She stared into the hate filled eyes of her former friend, they seemed to pin her in place and she found herself unable to move.

"You are a childish selfish bitch Harmony and you are not fit to be anything, but the god damn trophy girlfriend of some rich idiot you dream about," Cordelia snapped back as her gaze hardened. "Now I suggest you run away, before I lose what restraint I have left and kick your ass all over this hall," she warned her. "NOW," she added raising her voice a little.

Harmony couldn't handle the glare coming from Cordelia anymore or the fact that she had actually struck her, she turned and fled into the crowd doing her best not to cry. Cordelia watched her go with quite a bit of satisfaction, she turned her glare to the rest of her supposed friends who all began to back away from her before they turned and fled as well. She kept her eyes on them until they vanished into the crowd and she felt Xander's hands wrap around her shoulders and pull her into a comforting hug. She relaxed fully against him and allowed the anger Harmony had stirred up to fade away.

"Thank you," Xander whispered softly into her ear.

She turned her head to meet his rather expressive gaze and leaned up slightly so they could engage in a quick kiss, as they pulled apart she noted the look of honest shock Willow and Buffy still wore. Clearly both of them were still stunned she had actually defended Xander openly in front of her supposed friends, people she always went out of her way to keep on her side by acting as if they and Xander in particular didn't mean anything to her in reality. Now she had shown where she really stood, she had done something that wouldn't be forgotten and more than likely forgiven.

"You're welcome," Cordelia responded as she pulled away from Xander a little and just in time as Snyder appeared and began to state who was with which group. Inside she felt a resolution finally settle within her. 'Did she love Xander?' the answer was 'yes, she did.' Just looking into his eyes made her feel as if she was walking in the clouds, she felt connected to him on a level she had never felt before. And when this night was over she was going to make him very aware of how she truly felt, they would finally connect fully.

Willow still couldn't believe Cordelia had basically just thrown away her social status and place with the elite for Xander, while it answered the question about whether or not Cordelia really cared for Xander or not. She just found it truly amazing that she had chosen Xander over her social standing. Harmony and the others wouldn't forgive her for siding with Xander over them. Buffy too was stunned over what she had just seen, to her Cordelia had always been a selfish and spoiled bitch. She'd never been able to see what Xander saw in her, never been able to understand how the two of them had ever started a relationship in the first place.

But now she saw it, Cordelia had a steel core and she was protective of what was hers. She had been secretly warring with herself on what was more important to her, Xander or her social standing. Now she had made that choice and if she understood Cordelia at all then she wouldn't take that choice back. Oz simply smiled, happy to see Cordelia had finally resolved her internal debate on where she stood with Xander. It had always been clear to him she was struggling to understand whether she loved Xander or not. Harmony, for once, had proved useful and helped Cordelia find that answer.

Snyder finally reached them and with a sneer at each of them told them which group of children they were assigned too. Xander gave Cordelia another quick kiss as soon as Snyder turned his back to them and then moved towards his group of kids. Each of them stared up at him and waited for him to speak. For a second or two he was stumped as he had little interaction with kids but he quickly recovered.

"Okay. On sleazing extra candy, tears are key," Xander began as he moved up and down the line. "Tears will usually get you a double-bagger, you can also try the old "You missed me routine" but it's risky so only go there for chocolate," he added with a smile. "Understood?" he asked to which they all nodded with smiles or on two particular kids a smirk. "Then let's go trick or treating," he told them as he turned and led them out of the school shooting Cordelia a quick look as he passed her and her own group of kids.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

(Ethan's shop)

Ethan knelt and was dressed in a robe he wore over his normal everyday clothes, glancing at the clock he smiled and his eyes closed as he began to chant the first parts of the spell needed to turn everyone, who bought costumes from him, into those very characters the costumes were based on. His eyes snapped open and he stared at the bust of Janus, the god of chaos and doors. The bust was the focus of the spell he was casting and while it remained intact so would his spell. He could hardly wait for the fun to begin. Ripper, he was sure, would pick up on the commotion his spell would cause and bring him right to him.

Then he and his old friend would have their long delayed reunion, finally they would have it out for what happened all those years ago. As he chanted the final verses of his spell he felt a powerful wench in his gut, he let out a groan as the spell took far more power than he had believed would be needed and fell to the floor. He blinked a few times as he felt completely drained, but he was satisfied because the spell had been completed and it had worked. He could already hear the screams outside as people began to transform- Janus would obviously be pleased by his offering this night.

+SL+

(Sunnydale)

Xander was leading his group of kids down Wilmslow Drive when he was struck by an intense pain that seemed to sear through his body. He collapsed to his knees so overwhelmed he couldn't hear the rest of the kids scream as they transformed as well. He couldn't hold in an agonizing scream as his nervous system was overloaded and he briefly passed out. While he was passed out he failed to notice the fake Materia begin to glow as each was infused with the magic and power they would have had they been real. His sword also glowed as the magic of Ethan's spell transformed it into a real blade. His body changed as well under the effects of Etan's spell and became stronger and far more athletic. The body of what used to be Xander Harris groaned as he regained consciousness and stood up, the most startling transformation was now visible and that was his eyes. His brown eyes now glowed with Mako infusion, the sign of SOLDIER, Shinra's elite troops.

Cloud Strife absently grabbed his sword and stood up. He had no idea where he was, but only one thought filtered into his mind and that was to find Tifa. The last thing he recalled was having supper with Tifa, Denzel and Marlene before going to bed. He had made love with Tifa before she fell asleep in his arms. He had watched her for a while before following her into the arms of Morpheus.

'Where is she?' he wondered as he looked around his surroundings.

Things between him and Tifa were at their best now that he had put the demons of his past behind him. The fight against the Sephiroth remnants had helped him free himself from the guilt that had been eating away at him and causing him to drift further and further away from Tifa and their self-made family. Breaking away from his thoughts he finally took a good look around himself, and realized he didn't recognize the town he was in. He also finally noted the multiple creatures running loose through the streets, dropping into a combat stance he prepared for a fight as two of the creatures headed straight for him.

One street down from him was where Cordelia had been with her group of kids, she collapsed as soon as the spell struck. She let out a scream of pain as her body underwent its change, her body was infused with the ability to use the Materia that now began to glow as it too was transformed and infused with power and magic. Her body became more toned and athletic and her hair darkened to black, she quickly passed out from the shock of the transformation as the kids in her group completed their own transformations and began to run loose. Tifa Lockhart groggily got onto her feet as she regained consciousness, she had a slight headache but it quickly faded. She quickly realized she wasn't where she had been before she fell asleep. She wasn't in Cloud's arms as she should be. She also realized the town she was in was unlike anything she had seen before. The howl of monsters caused her to drop into a fighting stance as she realized this town was overrun with things she didn't recognize. She was just glad she had her combat knuckles with her.

A block away Willow and Oz both collapsed screaming in pain as the transformations struck them, while Oz was already a Werewolf the transformation turned him into a completely new species of his kind as well as a hybrid of both Werewolf and Vampire. He felt more power than he had ever believed possible, he blacked out for a few seconds as the transformation completed. Willow's transformation was harder as she had nothing to help her fight the pain of being transformed into a vampire, thankfully for her she wasn't turned into the demonic vampire she had been fighting since meeting Buffy. She was now the first of a new breed of vampires, with greater strength, speed and agility. When the pain stopped it wasn't Willow who stood up but the vampire Death Dealer Selene. She quickly began looking around for her Lycan hybrid lover Michael. Pulling her machine pistols from their holsters she ran into the chaos around her. Michael Corvin also ran once he woke up from whatever had happened to him. He didn't recognize where he was, but he knew he had to find Selene at any cost.

+SL+

(Ethan's shop)

Ethan looked out of his window and smiled as he watched the utter chaos that was invading Sunnydale, monsters of all kind ran amok along with a host of characters from many T.V, Movie and Game series. This had to rank up as one of his greatest achievements. Such a shame Ripper and the rest of his old crew were not here to see it, he was certain they would enjoy it. But then Ripper was at least in town, he just hoped he took note of what was now befalling the town he now lived in.

"Janus, bask in my tribute to you," he muttered as he turned and headed to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea, it would be some time before Ripper tracked him down he was sure. 'Might as well get comfortable,' he thought.

+SL+

(Sunnydale)

Cloud didn't wait for the two monsters to attack, he charged forward and jumped right over them avoiding been hit by their claws. As soon as he landed he swung his sword and twisted around catching the first of the two down its back, it roared in pain which he quickly silenced as he reversed his swing and took its head off. The second monster struck him with its tail and sent him flying backwards, but using the speed of the attack he managed to land on his feet and attacked again. The monster avoided his first attack, but he managed to catch it with his second, as it reared back in pain he unleashed an ice attack from his Materia selection and watched as the beast dropped dead. Glancing around he wondered what kind of beast these things were, they were unlike anything he had seen before.

'What in the world is going on?' he wondered as he examined the monsters he had slain. 'Where am I?' he asked himself as he got back to his feet.

A scream from somewhere close by started him running, he knew it couldn't be Tifa, as she wouldn't scream in such a manner. But something inside him forced him to check it out, placing his sword into the holder on his back he forced himself to run as fast as he could.

Tifa heard the scream as well and moved to finish the fight she was in with a beast of some sort of monster. She didn't' recognize it, but she was able to fight it without too much effort. The beast attacked again, but a hard kick to its chest followed by a combination of blows sent it backwards. This allowed her to jump upwards and land a hard driving kick into its head knocking it out cold. She then twisted on her feet and ran towards the scream, she had to find out how she got wherever it was she was and then how to get back home. Cloud, by now, would have noticed her absence and would be searching for her. Unless she thought as she came to a halt Cloud had been brought here too. That thought boosted her spirit and she resumed running, if he was here then she had to find him.

Selene opened fire on the beasts charging her, they were not vampires of that she was certain, but they were attacking her and thus she had to kill them. However the smaller creatures turned and ran from her at the sound of her guns, which confused her. It was like they were afraid of the noise; the bigger monsters fell to her bullets. She took down several before the remaining ones turned and fled, she quickly reloaded and took a minute to try and figure out where she was. Last she remembered she was talking to Alexander Corvinus alongside Michael, now she was somewhere completely different. She clearly wasn't in Hungary anymore, no it looked like she was in America, but that couldn't be. America was the home of the New Coven, where Amelia had ruled from before her untimely demise at the hands of the Lycan's. Not that Amelia hadn't deserved her death, like Viktor she had a hand in starting the whole war that had consumed so many. She more than likely agreed with Viktor's choice to butcher her entire family, so to keep the secret of where William was imprisoned.

'How did I get here?' she thought as she held tightly to her guns. And more importantly to her, 'Where is Michael?' she wondered.

Turning she walked off down the street with her trench coat flapping behind her, she intended to find out who brought her here and then ensure they sent her back to Michael. Getting back to her lover was all that mattered to her, hearing a scream she decided to investigate and headed in the direction it had come from.

Michael set off running as soon as he heard the scream, his hybrid body making him run all the faster. He avoided the other monsters in the streets; his only concern was to find Selene. How he could have suddenly appeared here was beyond him, but he intended to get back to Selene anyway possible. Someone had to be behind this, some kind of plan to separate him and Selene and that meant they were both in danger. But no matter how much he had changed since getting involved with Selene, one thing had not changed and that was his desire to help people. It was that aspect of his character that had first caught Selene's attention when they met in the subway tunnel. He still found it amazing how much his life had changed since that event.

The body of Buffy Summers ran screaming in terror at the things she saw around her, things that shouldn't and didn't exist in the world she had known. Beasts and monsters of all kinds surrounded her, even strange metal contraptions moving down the roads terrified her beyond belief. She continued to scream, wishing to be back home in her manor surrounded by her father's servants and guards. 'Where was she and how did she get here?' she asked herself again and again. Was this a nightmare or was it actually happening? She didn't know and that just scared her even more.

A growl brought her up short and she stopped running and looked up, before her was a huge looking creature with eyes that were pitch black. It was looking down at her with what she could almost describe as a demented smile on its face. She began to back off until she noted she couldn't retreat as there was a smaller monster behind her. She was trapped; she let out an even louder scream which caused both beasts to winch in pain.

Both monsters were in fact real demons; they had come out to inspect the chaos going on and had run across the Slayer. At first they were going to flee, that is until they realized the Slayer was acting very much unlike herself. It had been simple for them to conclude she had fallen to whatever was affecting everyone else who was dressed funny, they had decided to kill her and remove the annoying bitch who had killed so many of their brethren. They would earn themselves the honor of finally removing the one Slayer who seemed impossible to kill and who had killed so many famous names among the vampire and demon communities.

Just as the bigger of the two demons tried to jump at the terrified Slayer, Cloud appeared with a kick to its face that sent it stumbling backwards. Pulling his sword from its holster on his back he dropped into a combat stance, the girl kept screaming much to his annoyance. The smaller of the demons jumped forward as it saw the new threat. It hoped to get the Slayer before the warrior could react, but his attack was interrupted as something hot and painful ripped through him. He collapsed to the ground screaming in agony as the sensation of being shredded continued. He finally managed to see a woman with flaming red hair firing two pistols at him. Bullets it knew didn't kill demons, but like with vampires they hurt like hell, but these bullets hurt worse than anything else it had felt in its life.

The girl who had once been the Slayer looked for a way to escape the madness she had wandered into, monsters and warriors surrounded her and there seemed to be no way out. The big demon jumped at her again, but her savior somehow put it back to the ground with some kind of magic, her eyes opened wide as she watched lightening pound the demon. The demon struggled to escape the attack that now rained down on it, pain unlike any it had felt before cursed through it. Cloud quickly followed the lightening magic with a straight thrust with his sword through the things brain. Its black blood splattered the ground as it died. Cloud quickly turned to the other monster only to see a young woman with flaming red hair snap its neck. Lowering his sword, but refusing to put it away, he moved to see if the girl who kept screaming was ok, she backed away from him right into the red headed girl who quickly grabbed her.

"No, no let me go," the girl screamed as she struggled to escape.

"Shut it, we just saved your life," Selene snapped heatedly. "The least you could do is say thank you," she added.

The girl stopped struggling as she slowly realized that maybe these two people were not going to harm her, and she belatedly thought the girl had a point she should say thank you. "Thank you for saving me," she said timidly.

"See that wasn't so hard was it?" Selene responded. "I'm Selene, who are you?" she introduced herself and then waited for them to do the same.

"My name is Cloud, I don't understand how I got here or where here actually is," Cloud said as he finally put his sword back in its holster.

"I'm Lady Elizabeth Jenkins, and I do not recognize anything here," the girl spoke up. "I was home in my bedroom getting ready for my birthday party, and then I was here surrounded by monsters and demons," she explained. "I first thought it was a nightmare but, I think I am really here," she stated.

"You're here girl, but it seems none of us are where we are supposed to be," Selene shot back.

"We have bigger problems I'm afraid," Cloud said as he quickly pulled his sword and began to look around them.

Selene pulled her guns as she realized while they were talking, more demons had begun to surround them. Why they were being targeted she didn't know, maybe it was due to them killing the two from before. Her nostrils flared as the stink of so many demons reached her; this wasn't going to be as easy as before. Cloud too was thinking the same thing, he had only one Materia that could take out so many enemies, but with so many people running around in panic it was too dangerous to use unless there was no other way. The demons charged at the same time, eager to kill those who had killed their pack mates. Selene raised her guns to fire just as Cloud prepared to leap into the fray, while Elizabeth turned to flee.


End file.
